


The Law of Retaliation

by Caoilainn



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: AU, Betrayal I guess, Dark, Dark Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin), M/M, Murder, Mutilation, OOC, Quadriplegia, Revenge, Total paralysis
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-28
Updated: 2018-07-28
Packaged: 2019-06-17 17:22:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,654
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15466320
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Caoilainn/pseuds/Caoilainn
Summary: All the titans might be dead but there is still one final kill to be made before Levi is done.





	The Law of Retaliation

**Author's Note:**

> I did not foresee this fic turning out the way it did! I seem to have had the help of a particularly vicious muse…sorry Erwin!  
> (I don't know what's wrong with me...)
> 
> Seriously, check out the tags and read these notes. If it doesn't appeal to you then don't read the fic.  
> Not beta'd.  
> Might not be realistic as far as anatomy is concerned, but it's fiction! 
> 
> *********  
> Warning  
> *********  
> Don't read it if you are triggered by a character being made completely paralyzed because of spinal-cord damage. 

 

 *********

 _The law of retaliation – also know as e.g. “an eye for an eye” and lex talionis._ _A retaliation (authorized by law), in which the punishment corresponds in kind and degree to the injury._

 *********

 

Levi moved quietly but confidently through the halls. _The important part is to look like you belong, then no one’s gonna stop you_.  Words from long ago echoed in Levi’s mind and despite all the years that had passed he could almost hear Kenny’s raspy voice. Not that he needed the reminder. He did belong in this building, or at least he had for a good part of his life.  

Now that the battle against the titans was over he was more than ready to leave the military. The same military that he had been blackmailed into joining by a man who had become his immediate superior, who he had been made to spend time with all while nursing a quiet hatred for. A hatred he had kept well hidden from everyone.

Levi had never forgotten how Erwin Smith had played a part in the deaths of Isabel and Farlan, two people who had become the only family Levi had ever known, and how the Commander had presumed to think that he had authority over Levi. Swallowing down the grief over his family with practiced ease Levi turned his thoughts to Erwin’s presumptions of control, which in reality was no more than a delusion as far as Levi was concerned. 

Worse men had tried to rein Levi in and failed. Not even Kenny had been able to completely control the wild young boy Levi had been and with Kenny he had faced being killed if the man decided that Levi wasn’t worth the trouble. As if Erwin and his disappointed looks and stern talks could hold a candle to that.

Over a decade had passed since Erwin brought Levi up from the Underground and they had never talked about exactly how Levi had come to join the Survey Corps. He assumed that Erwin had more or less forgotten any details of what had happened that day. Levi had no illusions about the fact that the Commander most likely would class the details of the day they met as of no importance. After all, Erwin had obtained his goal and there was no reason for him to think about just how he had managed it.

 _Except to pat himself on the back,_ Levi thought bitterly.

He knew that the Commander saw him as somewhat of a confidant and Levi had used that. Early on he had decided to play the long game and he was practical, smart and patient enough to succeed. He had wanted every single titan dead and to kill Erwin before that happened would have been nothing less than unforgivably fucking stupid. The man had his uses after all; getting them funds, schmoozing with the fat pigs in the capital, lure young morons into enlisting and so on.  All Levi had to do, all he could do, was kill titans and wait as the years passed one after the other as he slowly got closer and closer to his goal. 

He had built a façade that allowed him to come close to Erwin, both to get access to the man and to get a good alibi. Because Levi had never been anything other than completely certain that if he and Erwin both survived the titans the Commander would end up under his blade.

Levi finally reached Erwin's quarters where he, after making sure that no one was nearby, knocked once and then simply opened the door and stepped inside.  

The first Levi saw of the man was Erwin's profile as the blond was sitting at his desk, apparently going over part of the unending paperwork that came with his position as a military commander.

Darkness had long since fallen outside and Erwin had lit several candles around desk. The only other source of light was the fire burning in the fireplace but together with the candles it lit up a good part of the room. As the blond man turned a little to see who had just entered Levi could see that despite the late hour Erwin was still dressed in uniform, minus his jacket and the 3DMG, and that meant that he might have some form of weapon still on him. Not that it really mattered. Erwin would not get the chance to defend himself against what was soon to come.

"Levi? What are you doing here at this hour? I thought you would take advantage of the luxury we now have to sleep safely at night." Erwin said, smiling absentmindedly, before his attention once more focused on the papers in front of him.

Taking advantage of Erwin’s inattentiveness Levi silently locked the entrance door behind him before he walked further into the room.

"You know me Erwin. I sleep a few hours here and there, always have and it's not likely to change after just a few weeks of living in a world without titans.” Levi answered as he slowly strolled further into the room, pausing here and there as if to inspect a knickknack on a shelf or take a closer look at a heavy tome of a book laying on the low table near the fireplace. All while moving closer and closer to his target.

“You ever think back? All the shit that’s happened, everyone who’ve died?  How we got here? “He asked the seated man.  

“Of course I do. I could never forget how many brave people we have lost.  People who gave their lives for our cause.  We have lost many good friends, haven’t we Levi?“ Erwin answered while he kept on writing. 

“We have, but they weren’t the same people. Your friends and mine that is.” 

“What do you mean?” Erwin asked as he turned around, looking bemused and with a questioning tone in his voice. 

“I mean that I lost my friends, my true friends that is, straight away.  And I haven’t let anyone close since then, not until Eren. Do you remember my friends Erwin?” 

“From the Underground? It was…Bella and…um... Fer…” 

“Isabel and Farlan.” 

“Right.  But you have had more friends than that Levi. And you still do! Hange and I have been there from the start, and we are still here.” 

“You know Erwin, you don’t know me half as fucking well as you seem to think. I have never considered myself a part of your shitty troops even if it might have seemed like it. I can be pretty damn pragmatic when I need to be and my best shot at revenge for my friends was to stay put. But don’t confuse that with me feeling any sort of appreciation or warm fluffy feelings for you assholes." Levi said, his tone hard and cold. 

The time had finally come. Levi was here, so close to his goal of taking revenge on Erwin. Now he could finally tell the other man all the things he had kept silent about during his years under Erwin’s command.  

"I really don’t know if I’ve despised you morons or the titans more. Farlan and Isabel were my friends, my only family. Yes a titan is what actually killed them, and I swore to kill every one of those fuckers I came across, but don’t you dare pretend that you didn’t play a major part in their deaths and in everyone else’s too! You fuckin’ lured dumb idiots with your talk of making a better world and when you couldn’t fool enough of them you went press-ganging people like me and my friends into your little corps and into losing- .“

“I understand that you say these things in grief, so I will let it go this time, but that is not an acceptable way of talking to your superior and there will be consequences if it happens again.” Erwin interrupted, his steely glare meeting Levi’s furious one. 

Erwin then turned back to his papers, quite obviously dismissing the other man. As such he didn’t notice that Levi moved to stand directly behind the Commander, a dark look on his face.

Drawing a thin and wickedly sharp dagger from a sheath in his boot Levi quickly and efficiently made a deep cut across the base of Erwin's neck, and in doing so severed the man’s spinal cord. He did it with the precision and detachment of a man who had performed an act very similar to this one on countless of titans. 

It was over in less than a second and much too fast for Erwin to be able to react in any way. Kenny had taught a young Levi exactly where to cut if you wanted your target incapacitated without having to restrain them. It wasn’t really a method meant for torture or temporary capture as the target permanently lost all feeling from the neck down and became incapable of movement. How much they would be able to speak varied. A cut like the one Levi gave Erwin was nothing less than death, the first step in a two-part act. Levi’s goal wasn’t to dole out physical pain on the Commander… he just wanted a captive audience. A humorless smile played on Levi’s lips at the unintended pun while he picked up a scarf hanging on the backrest of a nearby chair. He pressed it to the bleeding neck wound and then tied it so that the blood flow lessened while still letting Erwin breathe relatively unrestricted. Next he took the handkerchief from Erwin’s breast pocket and used it to wiped the bloody dagger clean.

Erwin was now motionless and slumped in the armchair. He would have fallen off of it if it hadn’t been for the armrests and the high back of the chair. Levi came around the side of the seated man, tilted Erwin's head so that it settled at an angle that made it possible for him to still see Levi and then just watched with satisfaction as the horrific reality of the situation registered with Erwin.

“Don’t interrupt me you shithead, and pay attention. I’ll make this fast so I can cover everything before you lose too much blood.” Levi said with a smirk. “Erwin, you lack humanity and you sure as shit lack the morality you always pretended to have. You are no better than any gang lord in the Underground, surrounding yourself with fucking cannon fodder. You have no idea how much I wanted to kill you the first time we met, right then and there. Not to mention when your orders and actions eventually led to the death of my family". Levi paused for a second to determine whether Erwin was registering his words or not. Then, satisfied with the fact that the Commander still seemed lucid, he continued

"But even if I hate to admit it, however much of a fucking coldhearted asshole you were and still are, you clearly had some way of controlling the idiot soldiers in this miserable place. Killing you back when Isabel and Farlan died would have gained me nothing but some fleeting level of satisfaction.”

It was obvious that Erwin tried to speak up and Levi decided to indulge him. He stepped closer to the seated man and leaned forward a bit in order to hear better.

“Th-…they…stop you.” the Commander managed to gasp. His voice was weak and trembling but the contempt and rage in his tone was easy to hear. As was the shock and the fear.

“And who are they?” Levi asked with a smirk. “The only one who knows what I’m doing is the man I love and he’s not going to hunt me down. He sure as hell aren't happy about it but he wasn't going to try and stop me. He still loves me and still stands by my side. In some ways, I think he even agrees with me that you need to pay your dues. Bummer for you."

Sitting down on the corner of Erwin's desk Levi met the man's eyes. 

“You, Erwin Fucking Smith, gave yourself the right to play with human lives. You've said that it was done for a higher purpose but that's not much of a comfort for the people who've died, is it? You've lured naive idiots to join your shitty ranks and for what? One mission, maybe two, and then ending up as fucking titan chow and have their mangled remains spewed up and left out in the wilderness? And when you saw someone you wanted as a soldier, well then you obviously felt free to just take them, right?”

Levi shook his head mockingly at the blond man sitting paralyzed in the chair across from him.

“You know, I can't decide if it's worse that you claim to care about the soldiers you sent to their deaths, but that you've seen it as a necessary evil, than if you had been upfront with the fact that the majority of them were all just faceless cannon fodder to you." Levi paused once more to check that Erwin hadn't croaked yet, before he continued. "Ok, so maybe I'm a little hypocritical. I don't actually give a damn about your shitty soldiers, with a few exceptions, but that doesn't mean that I can't give you hell for it. After all, I have to cram as much as possible into this little chat since it will be your last, and so that you know why I’m doing this.”

Smiling coldly Levi then added “And did you really think I would forgive or forget the fact that you humiliated me and fucking forced me into something I wanted no part of? I sure as shit didn't survive growing up with a fucking serial killer in the Underground just to end up under your tender mercies and then just give up and accept it." With hard eyes Levi observed the man in front of him.

"In the Underground, if you don't hit back and hit hard when someone slaps you around, metaphorically or literally, then you're gonna die in the same gutter you were born in. Sure, you got us up from the Underground, and I admit that was a goal of mine, but the way you did it? I can't let it slide Erwin." Levi said.

"You stupid idiot. I think you thought that you had tamed yourself the perfect attack dog, and even had me house trained to polite society... more or less. But you see, when you grow up like I did then the ruthlessness never leaves you. You’re still always ready for a knife to go into your back and you always keep your own knife close. Your reputation can be what stands between you and people who would gladly use, abuse, assault or kill you. Being seen as _Humanity’s strongest_ is definitely useful, at least up here, but it does nothing to patch up the reputation I had in the Underground. It doesn’t matter if I never return there because people talk. I can’t have rumors going around that you collared and leashed me like a fucking dog and that I just accepted it without retaliation. Not that I’m going to go around and boast about the fact that I murdered you, but the people who need to know are going to work out what happened here tonight. They always do.”

“Not get…away” Erwin managed to whisper while glaring at his attacker.

Standing up straight Levi straightened his clothes and smirked. “I hardly think I’ll have any problems with avoiding arrest. It’s not like the fucking MPs are the brightest bunch. I’ll re-arrange some stuff in here and lay a few false leads. Besides, I don’t plan to disappear into the night after this. Oh no, I’ll stay put for a while. Play the stoic but grieving officer. There will be no reason for anyone to suspect me. What would my motive be? Hell, everyone who accompanied you to the Underground, who knows what the fuck actually happened down there and who was with us on the mission where Farlan and Isabel died are fucking dead. So there will be no obvious reason why I would want to kill my _dear friend_ , the Commander who _saved_ me from the gutter and whom I have been following _loyally_ since."

Taking Erwin’s cloak down from where it hung by the entrance Levi brought it with him as he moved to stand right next to the seated man.

"Well Erwin,” he said as he mockingly patted the blond man’s shoulder “It's been an adventure at least and I'll admit that what you managed to achieve is going to benefit humanity. I just want the dead to get their due too. Bye Erwin."

Ignoring the panic stricken look in the blond man’s eyes Levi shielded himself with the cloak in order to avoid being drenched by the arterial spray of blood that erupted when he drew his sharp dagger across Erwin's throat, quickly ending the man’s life. 

Taking a few steps back Levi took a moment to just observe the scene before him. Erwin Smith was dead. Levi had finally acted on the plans that he had carried around in the back of his head for several years now, but while it did give him a bit of peace it didn’t really change anything. 

The dead were still dead and would remain so, only now Erwin was among their number. Unlike the soldiers who had died under Erwin's command however the Commander would get a burial, and lavish one at that. But then again, even Levi had to admit that their success against the titans was partly down to Erwin so he guessed that he could live with the fucking fancy funeral that was to come. Not that he had any choice if he wanted to avoid suspicions during the aftermath of Erwin's death. It would be a couple of month before he and Eren could move on and leave the ghosts of the Survey Corps behind them.

Dropping the bloody cloak on the floor Levi quickly confirmed that Erwin was indeed dead. He then began to stage the scene in order to confuse the trail, in case the idiot in charge of the MP actually sent someone with half a brain. Levi was an experienced enough assassin that he made sure not to leave any real evidence pointing to his involvement in the killing. Sure, it had been decades since he last had assassinated someone but he found that some things just stay with you. Levi then scrutinized his uniform and felt satisfied with only finding small traces of blood here and there. It was no easy feat to keep the white pants clean! They were really the most unpractical garment he had ever worn!

After wiping the bloody dagger clean on Erwin’s sleeve Levi then moved over to an already opened window overlooking the nearby meadow as well as the road into town. Because of the fire burning in the fireplace it was hot and stuffy inside the room and Erwin hade probably opened the window to let some fresh air in. Levi fastened a slender hook in the window frame and dropped the attached rope down to the ground. The idea was that an assassin could have gained entry, and then left, through the window. Now Levi used the rope to climb down the two stories to the ground with ease. It wouldn’t do to exit through the entrance door and risk stumbling upon someone out for a late-night stroll.

The gravel underneath his feet when he reached the ground wasn’t the best surface when you wanted to move quietly but on the other hand it left little trace in the way of footprints. Levi made his way around the building, all while keeping to the shadows and out of sight, and climbed the stairs up to his and Eren’s room.

Opening the door Levi found Eren pacing the room, nervously biting on his fingernails. As the younger man heard the door open he swirled around and looked incredibly relieved at the sight of his partner.

“Levi! What happened? Did you-“ Eren stopped talking, seeing Levi gesturing for him to keep quiet.

Closing and locking the door behind him Levi smiled fondly at the other man.

“Not much of a criminal mastermind, are you brat? At least wait until you can be sure that no one’s listening before you start discussing the details of a crime that’s punishable by execution.”

“Right, sorry!” Eren looked a little embarrassed and waited until Levi walked up to him and put his arms around the young man. Placing his hands on Levi’s hips Eren continued. “So... how did it go? Did you do it?”. 

The older man noticed that even though Eren had only halfheartedly protested against Levi’s plan, and had come to accept that Levi wouldn’t change his mind, he still avoided using words like murder, killed, dead and so on. It was obvious that he was still uncomfortable with the idea of assassination.

“I did. There was no problem.” Levi answered.

“And do you feel better?” Eren looked concerned at Levi’s short answer 

“…I don’t know. It doesn’t matter, it had to be done. I couldn’t have left it a loose end when we finally leave.”

“Ok love. So what do we do now? Just lay low?” Eren asked.

“Yes, then we’re free to leave and build our own life.” Levi smiled.

He finally felt like he could let go of his old friends. It had always felt like the ghosts of Farlan and Isabel had remained, constantly reminding him that Erwin lived on while they didn't. But now his fallen family had gotten their vengeance and it was high time for Levi to live for the living instead of the dead.

 

 

  

**Author's Note:**

> It's not like I hate Erwin (even though things don’t seem to end well for him in my fics), promise!   
> I just wanted to explore the possible consequences of Erwin forcing Levi and the others to join the Survey Corps and the death of Farlan and Isabel.


End file.
